Why the Pandemic Fund is considering an emergency financing mechanism

The Pandemic Fund was set up to help build countries’ capacity to prepare, prevent, and respond to future outbreaks. But it quickly realized there’s no such thing as an “interpandemic year.” “There's always an outbreak … occurring,” including the recent outbreaks of mpox in Africa and Marburg in Rwanda, the Pandemic Fund’s executive head, Priya Basu, said during Devex World 2024. This is why the fund’s board decided to fast-track some $129 million to support several countries affected by mpox, and is considering an emergency financing mechanism to help with ongoing, new, and future outbreaks. The fund’s investments are focused on building capacity, rather than being specific to one disease, Basu said. “You train vaccinators now for mpox, they'll come handy when the next outbreak happens. You build laboratory capacity that can quickly ramp up testing for mpox, that's going to help with other outbreaks as well,” she said. She said mpox-affected countries are “hugely supportive of and appreciative of the work” the fund has done to help them respond to the current emergency, and added that “there's a lot of demand for this kind of support.” But it can only do that with sufficient funding. The fund is gearing up for its replenishment this week in Brazil, where it hopes to secure at least $2 billion in pledges for the next two years. So far it has received pledges from the United States and Germany amounting to over $700 million, and more donors are expected to make their funding announcements at the replenishment event. Basu said they will continue to accept additional pledges after the event, and she’s encouraged “to see the interest.” “I think partly it's because the memories of COVID are still fresh, and people still remember the need to invest in this agenda,” she said.